Sending you a big hug and a basket full of best wishes, to let you know how much I appreciate all of you!
And…
sharing this yummy treat I recently received from a fellow blogger:
Mmm, it seemed like a perfect Valentine’s dessert. Cheryl from Life in Flip Flops gave it to me. I enjoy reading about her experiences in Hawaii as I dream of going one day. ‘grin’ This week she posted a yummy recipe for white chocolate bark with a Hawaiian twist.
As I struggled this past week to move forward in writing my next novel, I found myself re-evaluating my characters and digging deeper into their psyches to understand what really shapes their choices, their actions, their decisions.
One aspect of this that I had overlooked is what author Susan May Warren describes as the hero’s teddy bear or security blanket. Ignoring the fact that my hero’s name is Ted and the heroine likes to tease him about being a teddy bear, I sat down with my hero and had a little heart to heart.
Where do you turn, or who do you turn to when life broadsides you? I asked.
He arched an eyebrow as if to say, do I look like someone who could be broadsided.
To which I replied, “You will be. Trust me.” Then added under my breath a devious little laugh. Okay, not really, on the laugh part. I love my heroes.
Now hopefully, we turn to God. But we don’t always do that first. Just as a wounded child runs to his mother to mend his boo boo, we might call our mother or sister or friend. We might grab a chocolate bar or drown the voices in our head with a feel-good movie or upbeat song.
Or…as in my hero’s case, which he finally, albeit reluctantly, admitted, we try to control our way out of the problem. Now…if I do my job right, by the end of the story, he’ll be a changed man, but for now, he likes to commandeer the situation.
What about you?
Your Turn: What do you do after a particularly bad day to find your happy place?
I am so excited to have Roxanne here with me today to share her story. I first learned of Roxanne’s loss through the Faith, Hope, Love writing group and sent her a card of condolence, but I didn’t meet her until 2009 at an ACFW conference. As fellow writers and fellow homeschoolers and fellow matchmaking moms (we both had had children hitting that age *grin*), we hit it off immediately, exchanged emails, and yes, exchanged photos of our children. LOL.
When I saw her again this past fall at ACFW, she glowed as she shared her story of new love. Well, she glowed the entire weekend!
Take it away, Roxanne…
I first met author Missy Tippens at a conference a few years ago and she’s as sweet as her book. In addition to being a wonderful writer, she’s the mother of three, wife to her pastor husband and an adjunct instructor at a local technological college in Georgia.
I’ve invited Missy here today to share an interview with Hannah Hughes, the heroine of A House Full of Hope.
1. What’s the most important thing in your life?
Without a doubt, the thing most important to me is my four beautiful children. They’re my pride and joy!
2. What do you like to do with your children?
I love to play hide-and-go-seek with the kids. And to read to them. I don’t have much time for free time, but if I did, I’d love to take them for a day at the beach.
3. What are you afraid of most in life?
I fear not being able to provide well for my children. Since I’m a widow, it’s tough to provide for them in the way I’d like. I want them to have a nice home with lots of room. I’m working toward owning a home to help give them a place to feel secure.
5. Beside your kids, what is the most important thing to you, personally?
Feeling secure and loved. Feeling like I’m important to someone. I guess it’s part of my “baggage” that I continually have to deal with. 🙂
6. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?
Who has time to read?! 🙂 Right now, my favorites are the books I read to my children.
7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d worry less and trust God more.
8. Do you have a pet?
We have a pet on our rental property that the kids have pretty much adopted. A black Labrador retriever named Blue. He’s into everything and about drives me crazy! But I’m growing more and more attached to him.
9. What’s your favorite childhood memory?
I’d have to go way back to elementary school–before my parents started having trouble and my sister got involved in the wrong crowd. I have good memories of laughing a lot with my dad (teasing my mom about being so uptight). And great memories of family vacations at the beach.
Wow, I can so identify with Hannah, right down to the dog that drives me crazy. LOL. Is it any wonder I enjoyed the book so much? One of the things that drew me to Christian fiction in the first place and inspirational romance in particular was seeing the characters face similar circumstances to what I was facing or circumstances I feared (losing a spouse) and overcoming. They inspire and give hope.
Your Turn: How has a book inspired or given you hope in your circumstances or fears?
Btw, A House Full of Hope is now in stores or you can order it directly from Harlequin. Use this link and coupon code SAVE10AFFO to receive an extra 10% discount off its already discounted prices before 3/31/12.
I’m also giving away a copy on Friday to one of my commenters from Monday’s or today’s post. Be sure to check back on Friday.
This past weekend, I read Missy Tippens’ newest Love Inspired release, A House Full of Hope. I became a fan of Missy’s after reading her 2011 release, so I snatched this latest book up the day it hit the shelves. Best of all, it has lots of great questions for discussion. But first let me give you a description of the story:
From black sheep to father of four…
Before becoming a Christian, Mark Ryker ran with a bad crowd and broke hearts. Including his father’s. Now a successful businessman, Mark has come home to Corinthia, Georgia, to make amends. But no one will forgive him. So when the widowed mother of four renting his dad’s run-down house needs help fixing up the place, Mark gets to work. Pretty Hannah Hughes and her sweet kids have him longing to be part of the clan, but Hannah isn’t ready to let go of the past. Still, they are working together on a house full of hope—and that’s all Mark needs.
First off, I want to let readers know that writers don’t usually get to write their own back cover blurbs. Moreover, the person who writes them has usually only read an early synopsis of the story and perhaps the first two or three chapters. I mention this, because although I’ve included the blurb above, I think it failed to nail the vast scope of the conflict, not to mention the first line gives away the ending! Of course, we always know the hero will get his HEA, but the hurdles in Mark’s path seem utterly insurmountable.
First of all, he’s returned to seek forgiveness for causing his brother’s death and then walking out on the family, cutting off contact so that they couldn’t even find him when his mother died. His father is not about to forgive him.
Mark starts fixing up the house, because he wants to stick around long enough to make sure his financially-struggling dad is okay, and because he wants his dad back in their family home, not renting it out to the heroine and her four kids while his dad lives above the garage.
If that weren’t enough to worry the widowed heroine, as a youth, Mark destroyed her sister’s life and as a consequence their family’s, and while the heroine may come to realize he isn’t a monster, her mother will never forgive him. As a single mom, the heroine relies on her mother to help with childcare and can’t afford to alienate her. Moreover, Mark’s home and business is three thousand miles away–not exactly condusive to an ongoing relationship.
I love getting half way through a book and wondering how the hero and heroine could possibly ever end up together. But…onto today’s question…
Your Turn: Mark wanted to achieve success before coming home so he’d earn respect. What pitfalls do you see in striving for material success, or in striving for affirmation in other ways? Have you ever fallen into that trap?
Giveaway: I’ll mail a copy of Missy’s book to a randomly selected commenter from today and Wednesday’s blog. You DO NOT have to leave your email address. I will announce the winner Friday along with a real-life romance story that you won’t want to miss!
Happy Friday everyone. I’d like to introduce you to my new best friend who spends his days sitting on my virtual desktop.
Isn’t he cute?
Don’t be fooled. He’s a villainous task master. But he keeps me productive.
Don’t worry. I haven’t lost my mind. The orange is the icon for a Mac ap called Concentrate. When I turn it on, it locks out my internet and email account and anything else I don’t have the self-control to avoid when I get stuck while writing. Or not just stuck. Sometimes while writing I’ll want to search for a better word or research an element, so I’ll log onto thesaurus.com or google the element and before I know it I’ve completely lost my train of thought.
Of course, I could just click the orange then click done, and voila, I’m back in, but I’m resisting the temptation.
In fact, I called the orange my friend, but I like to think of him as my arch nemesis. When you engage the ap, you can set it to silence or any number of sounds for a length of time of your choice. I set it to “tick, tick, tick” for 60 minutes.
I know, I know…I thought it would drive me crazy, but it doesn’t.
It’s like a ticking bomb, spurring me to rescue my heroine from danger before the bad guys get the upper hand. Then every fifteen minutes this male computer voice whispers, “You’re doing great. Keep going!”
It sounds so creepy that it makes me laugh every time. I think of it as the villain goading me, laughing sarcastically.
Highly motivating when writing suspense. Ah the games we writers play!
Your Turn: Do you use any tricks or rewards to keep you on task?
P.S. If you missed my special post yesterday, and want to do some shopping for your Valentine’s reading, scroll down or click older posts. I’ve included some valuable coupon codes for extra savings.
I know, I know, I usually don’t post on Thursdays, but…it’s just too exciting to wait.
Shades of Truth won’t be in stores for another 40 days, but it is available NOW from the Harlequin website at 20% off the cover price!!! And I have special coupon codes to save you even more…
For regular or larger print copies, click here, choose the version you want and use coupon code SAVE10AFFO at checkout to save an additional 10%
if you’d rather stock up on your favorite titles, use coupon code BUY2AFFO to buy 2 titles and get one free. Shipping is always free for 1st time customers, or for purchases over a certain amount
For Adobe Epub version, click here, choose the Epub version and use coupon code SAVE10AFFO to save 10%
if you want to stock up on other titles, use SAVE5DOLLARS to save $5 when you spend $15 on Ebooks.
I’ve invited Raquel Byrnes to share with us what inspired her to write Ruby Dawn (the book I introduced to you on Monday.
Take it away, Raquel…
Of the six children the Lord has blessed me with; four of them are adopted from the foster care system. During that journey to completing our family, I met some incredibly dedicated people and some that weren’t so great during the process of adopting.
What I noticed most of all was that a great many of the children become teens and then adults without ever being adopted. I wondered what God would do with someone who had been tossed about in the winds of this system. I know that many come in contact with loving, godly caretakers and workers and that seeds of hope and faith are planted in the hearts of these kids. How might the Lord bring them through this time and what kind of faith grows from trials at such a young age, I wondered.
The story of Ruby and Tom is close to my heart. Two souls who find each other in a dangerous place only to believe they’ve lost each other after a tragic accident. First loves, feeling that you’re alone in your faith, and seeing the amazing work God can do in the life of someone willing to surrender their heart and soul are subjects that really move me as a writer.
I have often found that when we feel most vulnerable and weak the Lord shows us how strong our hearts can be when fortified with faith.
Sometimes you have to trust in God’s promises, despite what it looks like at the moment.
–Ruby, age 16, Dresden Detention Center
Ruby Dawn explores the power of faith and the choice to trust God in the face of losing all that we love.
Thanks so much, for sharing with us today, Raquel. Wow, you must be one busy woman raising and homeschooling your brood in addition to carving out time to write.
Your Turn: Readers do you have any questions for Raquel?
I’ll start…Raquel, when do you find time to write?
I’m excited to share with you today a bit about Ruby Dawn, a new release from Raquel Byrnes, a fellow writer with Hartline Literary Agency.
The book just released so I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing how Raquel handled some elements similar to those in my upcoming release. (i.e. forgiveness, a past in youth detention, and a drug sting).
Here’s the back cover blurb:
So… here’s our discussion question for today…
Ruby once believed that God could make incredible changes in people, but when she encounters a dangerous person from her past, her faith is put to the test.
Your Turn: Has someone hurt you in the past returned and asked for forgiveness? Did you find it difficult to open your heart to them again? Is there a scripture verse that spoke to you?
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